OFFICIALS
TEST ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM FOR THE FIRST TIME
"Live" Warnings Part of Tsunami Awareness Week

March
24, 2005 ó The NOAA National Weather
Service and Alaska's Division
of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, in cooperation with
local emergency management offices and the Alaska Broadcasters Association,
will conduct the first-ever statewide test of the tsunami warning communications
system on March 30 at 9:45 a.m. Alaska Standard Time. Live tsunami
warning codes, rather than a test code, will be broadcast on television
stations statewide. (Click image for larger view of the north
end of Resurrection Bay at Seward, Alaska, about 75 km from the epicenter
after the March 27, 1964, tsunami struck. An overturned ship, a demolished
Texaco chemical truck, and a torn-up dock strewn with logs and scrap
metal are visible. A section of the waterfront slid into Resurrection
Bay. Waves spread in all directions, destroying the Alaska railroad
docks, and washing out railroad and highway bridges. Please credit “Dept.
of Interior.)

The communications
test will involve NOAA Weather
Radio All Hazards, the Emergency Alert System, and other state and
local communication links. Radio listeners should hear the familiar
alerting tone followed by an audio message describing the test, similar
to the routine monthly tests of the EAS. Television viewers, however,
may see something different.

Some automated
systems, such as for cable TV, are programmed to scroll a standard,
pre-composed message based upon the emergency code received. Because
a live tsunami warning code will be used, the message television viewers
see will not contain the word "TEST." In fact, it should say,
"THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TSUNAMI WARNING
FOR ALL OF ALASKA..." The television audio message that
will accompany the crawler will explain it is a test, but if the volume
is turned down or otherwise unheard, viewers may not realize the warning
is a test.

"This
is a critical first step in testing the entire tsunami warning communications
system to ensure the safety of all Alaskans," said retired Navy
Vice Admiral Conrad
C. Lautenbacher, undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere
and NOAA administrator. "We're confident the results will not only
help protect Alaskans from future tsunamis but will serve as a testing
model for other states and territories that could be impacted by these
destructive waves. We think tests like this will become a standard part
of NOAA's commitment to better engage and inform the public as we build
a nationwide tsunami detection and warning system." (Click
aerial image for larger view of Valdez, Alaska, showing the extent of
inundation along the coastline following the tsunami generated by an
earthquake on March 27, 1964. A slice of the delta, approximately 1,220
m long and 183 m wide, slid into the sea and carried the dock area and
portions of the town with it. Please credit “Dept. of Interior.)

The test
is part of Tsunami Awareness Week, proclaimed by Governor Frank Murkowski
as March 27 - April 2. The week coincides with the anniversary of the
Great Alaskan Earthquake—a devastating 9.2 magnitude earthquake
that triggered deadly tsunamis in Alaska 41 years ago on Good Friday,
March 27, 1964.

"The
deadly tsunami that occurred in Indonesia last December illustrates
the extreme importance of having a tsunami warning system," Murkowski
said. "When an actual tsunami warning is issued, we have to be
ready to give all Alaskans that could be in danger as much notice as
possible so they can seek safety.”

"We
are doing all we can to ensure the public is aware of the test ahead
of time so we do not create confusion," said Jim Butchart, deputy
director of Emergency Management for the Alaska Division of Homeland
Security and Emergency Management. "The only way to truly test
our warning system is to use the live codes, so it is very important
that we get the public involved in the test as much as possible."

The general
public can participate in the test by monitoring NOAA Weather Radio
All Hazards or via commercial radio, cable TV or local television for
the EAS message. Local emergency management may use the test to help
raise awareness of the tsunami hazard.

Officials
will evaluate the success of the test and correct any problems that
are uncovered. To assist in this process, people in coastal areas should
monitor their normal media sources at the time of the test and report
afterwards via a Internet address given in the test message.

Most importantly,
people living or working in coastal areas that DO NOT receive the test
through commercial radio or weather radio should report that fact to
their local NOAA National Weather Service office.

If there is excessive seismic activity on March 30, the test will be
cancelled.

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